Buchecha vs. Reug Reug Heavyweight MMA Fight Confirmed For 22 April
A colossal heavyweight MMA tussle between Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida and “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane has been added to the ONE: Eersel vs. Sadikovic card on Friday, 22 April.
The mammoth showdown between two of the division’s most popular rising stars will take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium – a year after they were first slated to face off at “ONE on TNT I.”
Thirteen-time BJJ World Champion “Buchecha” will look to continue his flawless transition to MMA following a pair of impressive first-round wins.
The American Top Team and Evolve MMA star has made waves in ONE Championship so far, submitting Anderson “Braddock” Silva in his debut and then scoring another submission victory against Kang Ji Won at ONE: WINTER WARRIORS in December.
With those impressive performances, the Brazilian has shown that his world-class grappling can succeed in the all-encompassing sport, and there are high hopes for him in the burgeoning heavyweight ranks.
Meanwhile, “Reug Reug’s” career started in a similar fashion.
The Senegalese star exploded to a 3-0 record in the Circle with three stoppages via ground-and-pound, including a first-round demolition of seasoned veteran Alain Ngalani at ONE: UNBREAKABLE II.
However, he’ll be eager to bounce back from his first career defeat at the hands of recent ONE Heavyweight World Title challenger Kirill Grishenko last April.
“Reug Reug” will also offer up a new type of threat to “Buchecha” when they meet inside the Circle.
The Brazilian only faced strikers in his first two appearances, but the Black Panther Sports athlete owns an explosive wrestling game that could be more difficult to navigate for the BJJ specialist.
Almeida’s unrivaled submission threat and Kane’s powerful wrestling could negate each other and force them to showcase their respective improvements in other areas, so there’s plenty of intrigue surrounding this contest.
Moreover, a win for either man would make a big statement in a rapidly expanding division.
While ONE Heavyweight World Champion Arjan Bhullar and ONE Interim Heavyweight World Champion Anatoly Malykhin might be a few fights away, an impressive finish from either rising star could boost into the conversation.